More than 600 stranded hikers have been successfully rescued from Mount Rinjani on Indonesia’s Lombok Island, two days after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the popular tourist destination.
The final six hikers were brought down from the mountain Tuesday morning, confirmed National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, following a massive combined rescue effort involving almost 200 Indonesian police, military and medical personnel.
The hikers had become trapped on the mountain’s numerous hiking routes after the earthquake, which struck early Sunday, unleashed a series of landslides blocking their path back down to safety.
The toll of the earthquake, which killed 16 people and left hundreds of others homeless, is still being counted across the rest of the popular tourist spot.
During a visit to the island Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced each damaged property would receive 50 million rupiah ($3468) in aid to help them rebuild, according to state news agency Antera.
“The provincial governor will announce the total amount of everything (damages), and the aid will be allocated in the form of cash to let the residents build their damaged houses on their own,” the Indonesian president said.
Early estimates indicated more than 1,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
